Aftershock
by SunKrux
Summary: What happened to all that energy Myka absorbed but didn't release?  ALL CHAPTERS POSTED NOW.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:**This takes place right after _Mild__Mannered_ – It kind of bothered me that Claudia mentioned that the suit would drain the wearers vital fluids after wearing for at least 60 minutes as well as the fact that after the second round of absorbing the energy from Sheldon's Iron Shadow trunks, Myka didn't release it into the air like she did the first time. So my muse _*__waves__at__Marguerite!Muse__*_decided to come up with this.

No copyright infringement intended. I do not own the characters and promise not to damage them…any more than the show writers do, maybe. I will return them to the Warehouse when we're done playing.

Thanks to: **bluelittlegirl** and **kat_rowe** for their beta work.

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><p>"So do you think this feels more like home...now?" Myka asked her partner after joining him on his bed.<p>

Pete, continuing to read his comic, quickly looked at her before responding, and then looked back at his comic, "Naw, it's better."

Myka smiled as he went back to reading (the comic). She could hear Claudia and Artie heading downstairs, Claudia still moaning about whatever it was Artie was saying to her. Things were back to normal, well, as normal as things got around the B & B. The curly-haired agent closed her eyes for a few moments. She didn't feel herself slowly falling back onto Pete's bed.

Pete was so engrossed in his comic he didn't realize that Myka had fallen asleep until he felt her hit the mattress, which bounced a little when she landed. He looked at her for a few seconds before he heard Leena knock softly on the door.

"Cookies are done. If you two want any, I'd suggest you get downstairs right away. Artie's very fond of Oatmeal Scotchies, you know," the innkeeper told them. Leena smiled at Pete as he sat up. She looked at Myka for a few moments, a little confused, but noises from downstairs pulled at her so she didn't dwell on it.

Pete smiled as he sat up and put the comic on his nightstand. Myka stirred a little when he sat up but didn't wake up. He stood up, thinking his movements might wake his sleeping partner, but Myka didn't move. The red licorice she'd been eating earlier was still clasped in the hand resting on her chest.

"Hey, Myks, cookies," Pete said, as he gently pulled the candy out of her hand. The dozing woman blinked a couple of times.

"What?" she asked sleepily.

"Cookies are done. Leena said Artie is going to eat them all," her partner told her as he helped her sit up.

"Oh, well, you'd better go down and get some," she teased while stretching a little.

"You coming?" Pete asked as he headed for the door.

"Yeah, I'll be right behind you," she told him as she slowly stood up. Myka made her way out of Pete's room and down the stairs, obviously not fast enough for her childlike partner.

"Come on, Myka, all the cookies will be gone by the time you get down here," he called, racing down the stairs.

"Pete, you're the one who likes cookies, remember?" the dark-haired agent commented as she started down the stairs.

By the time Myka had made it to the kitchen Pete, Claudia and Artie had eaten most of the cookies. Leena was standing near the oven. She had just taken out another batch of cookies and was putting them on the cooling rack.

"I tried to save you a cookie, Myka, but Pete ate it," Claudia told her as the older woman sat next to her.

"Did not!" Pete claimed, breaking another cookie in half and eating it.

Myka smiled, "Right, you not eat a cookie. That's like saying Claudia wouldn't hack a computer," she baited.

"Hey! I did try…" Claudia started to protest when Leena placed a fresh batch of cookies in the middle of the table. Pete was first to reach for them. Leena gently swatted his hand.

"Pete, you've already had half a dozen, let Myka have at least one before you eat the rest," she scolded him, as she pushed the plate towards Myka. Leena watched Myka surreptitiously as she took a cookie. Something was off with Myka, but she couldn't quite tell what. Her aura was a mix of colors: green, red and mustard. They were all swirling around, and it was hard to read which, if any, was the dominant one. When Myka finally took the cookie, Leena noticed Myka looking up and quickly evinced a smile.

Myka looked up, smiling herself. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Leena responded as Pete took two more cookies. Claudia and Artie both took more cookies as well.

"Leena, how about some milk?" Pete asked.

"You know where it is, Pete, your legs aren't broken, you know," Myka told him as she broke her cookie in half and ate it. The other half she placed on the plate in front of her. Myka absentmindedly kept breaking off little pieces, not really eating it. She wasn't sure why she felt so tired.

"Hey, you going to eat that or make more crumbs?" Pete asked when he noticed what she was doing.

"Huh? Wha…oh no, you want it?" she mumbled as she offered him the decimated half cookie.

"Not after you mangled it like that. You okay?" he wondered when he looked at her.

"Yeah, I'm just a little more tired that I thought. I think I'm going to go to my room and turn in," Myka told her partner and housemates as she stood up. Habit forced her to pick up her plate and take it to the sink.

Leena was taking another sheet of cookies out of the oven. "Myka, just leave it; I'll take care of it," Leena offered when she noticed the curly-haired agent by the sink. When Leena looked this time, Myka's aura was definitely redder and more mustardy than green.

Leena quietly asked, "You sure you're feeling okay?"

"I'm just tired, Leena. Thank you for the cookies," Myka told her as she handed the innkeeper her plate.

"You're really going to turn in now, Myka?" Pete asked, looking at his watch. "It's only like 5 p.m. and that's early, even for you."

"Yes, Pete, I am. I guess being a superhero makes one more tired than normal," she responded as she made her way to the stairs. Hoping she was out of earshot, Myka let out a little moan of pain as she started up the stairs. Her whole body started aching.

Maybe if I take a hot shower it will loosen up, she thought to herself. She grabbed some PJs and headed to the bathroom. After taking a hot shower, Myka went back to her room, throwing her dirty clothes on the floor of her closet. Then she crawled into bed without even bothering to turn off the lights and was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

After Myka was upstairs, Leena whispered something to Artie.

Pete and Claudia looked at each other, and then looked at Artie and Leena, "What?" they said in unison.

Artie looked at Leena, "You want to tell them?"

"I think something is wrong with Myka; her aura isn't the usual color it's been for the last several months. I'm not sure what it is, though. I didn't want to say anything yet. I was hoping she'd say something," Leena told Pete and Claudia.

"What should we do?" Claudia asked, worried.

Pete stood up, "Is that why you were looking at her funny earlier?" he asked Leena.

"When was this?" Leena asked.

"When you came to my room and told us the cookies were ready. You were staring at Myka while she was asleep," Pete reminded her.

"Yes, but then it was harder to tell what was going on. Her aura was a jumble of colors. Green, which it's been for a while now," Leena started to explain.

"Green, that's bad, right? Does it mean she's sick or something?" Claudia wondered.

Smiling at the youngest boarder, Leena continued, "No, green isn't bad. It means that basically Myka is content here. The other two colors I keep seeing are the bad ones. Red and mustard. Red usually means anger or unrest and mustard means pain. I just can't figure out which one is more prevalent. They're both swirling around with the green," Leena finished.

"Could she have come in contact with another artifact that we didn't know about?" Pete wondered, standing in the doorway of the kitchen, looking up the stairs towards his friend's room.

"Oh, pickles!" Claudia suddenly said.

Everyone turned to her, noticing she looked a little scared.

"What, Claudia?" Artie demanded.

The red-headed woman swallowed quickly. "Maybe it has something to do with the suit and gauntlets she used to absorb the energy off Sheldon. I didn't even realize it until now, but after the (after the) second time she drained energy from the trunks Sheldon had was wearing, she didn't release it like she did the first time." Claudia explained.

"Why didn't she?" Artie asked.

Pete turned to face the others. "Because we were all preoccupied with getting the trunks off Sheldon and then keeping her from falling. After that, we finished up and headed home. She seemed perfectly fine by then. Joking and everything."

"Maybe it's nothing," Leena said as she cleaned up the plates and table. "Anyone got room for dinner after all those cookies?" she asked.

Claudia shook her head "no" and headed to her room. "I need to do some research or something," she mumbled, leaving the room.

"Not me, I think I'm going to go for a run to work off the stress of eating all those cookies," Pete said, winking at Leena.

"I've got work to do at the Warehouse. I'll eat later," Artie said as he and Pete left.

"Okay, guess I'll clean up." Leena said as the others left the kitchen.

A couple of hours after Myka had fallen asleep she awakened in pain. It was a dull ache, kind of like one gets when one has the flu. The dark-haired agent shifted positions in her bed, hoping to get comfortable again. After several tries she gave up. Lying on her back she starred up at the ceiling trying to decide if she should bother looking for anything to lessen the pain. She closed her eyes and willed the pain to go away.

"Okay, this is not good," Myka mumbled as she tried to move, but couldn't because the pain was intensifying. "Ow."

Pete had been back from his run for a while and was downstairs chatting with Leena while he ate dinner. In mid-bite he dropped his fork and looked up at the ceiling.

"Pete, are you getting a vibe?" Leena asked when she heard his fork hit his plate.

"Yeah, I'm going to go check on Myka, if you'll excuse me," he politely told the innkeeper as he stood up and briskly walked to the stairs.

Pete took the stairs two at a time because the closer he got to Myka's room, the stronger his vibe got.

"Hey, Myks, you awake?" Pete asked, knocking on her door lightly. He knocked a little harder when he didn't hear any response from his partner. "Myka, Myka, are you okay?"

"Pete?" Myka croaked out. Not only was she in pain, but now she was experiencing something that felt like she was being shot with the Tesla on its lowest setting.

Pete opened her door when he heard her answer. He saw his partner lying flat on her back. "Myka?"

Myka tried to move her head when she heard Pete open her door, but it hurt too much. She moaned as another wave of the electricity coursed through her. Pete rushed to her bedside when he noticed her body shaking.

"Hey, partner, what's up?" he queried as he sat on the bed and attempted to help her up. "Myka, you're burning up," he commented when he gently grasped her arms.

"Pete, let go, please. It hurts. Everything hurts," she whimpered when Pete grabbed her arms.

"Did you just shock me?" he wondered, rubbing his hands together trying to get the tingling sensation to stop.

"I might have. It feels like I'm being hit with the Tesla on its lowest setting. Sorry."

"It's okay. What can I do?" He asked, worry lacing his voice.

Myka closed her eyes again. Pete noticed tears running down the side of her head as she did.

"I'm going to go get Leena," he told her, getting up.

"Pete, okay, hurry." Came her reply as he left her room.

"Ow, dude, watch where you're going!" Claudia said from on the floor. Pete hadn't been paying attention when he rushed out of Myka's room and slammed right into Claudia.

Pete looked down at the redhead lying on the floor, "Oh, sorry, Claud," as he offered his hand and helped her up. "Hey, would you go down and get Leena? Myka's in a lot of pain; she says she feels like someone's shooting her with a Tesla on low, and she can't move."

"What?" Claudia said, looking into Myka's room. Pete pulled her out. "Seriously, go get Leena. Maybe she can read Myks aura and tell us what's going on. Now," he said, pushing her towards the stairs.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Claudia raced down the stairs. "Leena, come quick, it's Myka!" she yelled as she hit the bottom step.

Leena emerged from the kitchen. She could see how worried Claudia was for Myka, as Claudia's aura was flashing bits of gray. The pair quickly went upstairs.

They heard Myka telling Pete, "Pete, stop it. Just leave me here, okay. It hurts less when you don't touch me."

Pete was standing by her bed. "Myka, I was only trying to help," he apologized.

Myka tried again to move her head and was successful in moving it just a tiny bit. "I know, Pete, but honestly, whatever is happening, it hurts less if you don't touch me," she told him, looking up at him.

Leena and Claudia joined Pete, one on either side. In unison, Claudia and Pete asked, "Leena, what do we do? What's going on?"

Leena stood there a moment looking at the two, both of their auras flashing grayer than before. Then she looked at Myka whose aura was a mix of mustard and red.

"Claudia, what did you find out in your research?" Leena asked, looking at the youngest member of the household.

Claudia looked at Myka, who had her eyes closed again, then at Pete and Leena. "Not much, and what I did find, wasn't good."

"That's all you found out?" Pete accused.

"Pete, don't do that," Myka chided her partner.

"What? If she hadn't…" Pete started.

"Pete!" Myka yelled, "If Claudia hadn't, we wouldn't be here right now, now would we?" she reminded him.

Claudia gave a little smile to Myka. "I think it's the energy you didn't release after the second time you absorbed it from Sheldon. I can't find anything on what would…wait…" Claudia said and then left the room.

Claudia rushed to her room, picked up her Farnsworth and dialed Artie.

"Come on Artie, answer." She said as waited for her curmudgeonly boss to pick up.

"What?" came a grumpy reply.

"Artie, Myka's in trouble. It's all my fault, but you can yell at me later for it." Claudia rushed out.

"Claudia, slow down. What's wrong?" he asked, worry evident on his face.

"The second time Myka used the gauntlet and suit to absorb energy off Sheldon she didn't release it like she had the first time. Now she's in a lot of pain and mentioned feeling like she was being hit with a Tesla on low," Claudia filled in Artie.

"Where is she now?" Artie asked the youngest member of his team.

"In her room with Pete and Leena." Claudia told him.

"Let me see her," Artie demanded.

Claudia rushed back to Myka's room and held the Farnsworth so Artie could see Myka. She was in much the same position she'd been in when Claudia left, although she was moving a little now.

"Myka, how are you doing?" Artie asked.

"I've been better, thank you," she responded, in pain.

"I can see that. We'll get this figured out, not to worry," he said before addressing Claudia again, "Claudia."

Claudia turned the Farnsworth back so she could see Artie, "Yes, crabby?"

"Funny, hand the Farnsworth to Leena and Pete," he requested.

Claudia handed it to Leena as she heard Artie whisper, "Leena, you and Pete go out in the hall." Leena and Pete did as Artie commanded while Claudia stayed in the room with Myka.

"Artie, what do we do?" Pete asked, not giving his boss time to speak once he and Leena were in the hall.

Artie looked at Pete and Leena, "Can Myka move?"

"Not really," Pete answered.

"Well, you need to get her to the Warehouse." Artie instructed.

"How are we going to do that?" Pete wondered, "It's like she's in constant pain," he added.

Leena interjected, "It's not like; she is. I can see it."

"Plus, when I touched her, she shocked me." Pete informed the older agent.

"Understood. But I have a plan," Artie told them.

"Yeah?" Pete queried.

Artie sighed before continuing. "Yes. It is possible if Myka is doused with neutralizer it will either absorb or force the energy out of her before it does any permanent damage."

Pete looked at his boss, then Leena, "Whoa, she is not going to like that."

"She won't like being dead if you don't get her over here soon." Artie said, closing his Farnsworth.

"You tell her," Pete said as he closed his Farnsworth.

"I'm not going to tell her. You tell her; she's your partner," Leena told him as she headed back into Myka's room.

"But Leeeeeennnnaaaa," Pete whined.

Leena stopped and took a deep breath before turning to face the childlike agent, "Pete, you are her partner, you tell her. Claudia and I will get extra clothes ready for her. We'll also probably be the only ones she'll let go near her once we're at the Warehouse."

"Oh."

"Once who's at the Warehouse?" Claudia asked, poking her head out the door. She had heard Pete's whine. Pete and Leena entered Myka's room before answering.

Leena moved to the foot of Myka's bed. "Myka, where do you keep your overnight bag?"

"On the floor of my closet," the curly haired agent replied.

"Hey, Pete, what did Leena mean, 'once we're at the Warehouse?'" Claudia asked as he moved next to his partner.

Leena grabbed Claudia and directed her to start gathering Myka's toiletries from the bathroom after quietly telling her what the plan was.

"Hey, partner, how you feeling?" Pete asked lightly.

Myka looked up at him. "I could run a race right now, I feel so great," came her sarcastic reply.

"That good, huh?" Pete asked, gently sitting on the edge of the bed before continuing. "Do your remember when we were in the Warehouse after the Paris trip?"

"Yes, you were your usual charming self, bragging about how handsome you think you are."

"Yes, and you were going on about how you went to some community college," Pete started.

"Pete, I went to the University of Colorado, and you know it."

"Right, right. Sorry, my bad. Well, do you remember what happened when we didn't hear Artie?" he asked, slowly standing up.

Myka eyed him. "Yes, why?"

"Well... Artie's plan is to basically do-the-same-thing-to-you-to-getthatenergyoutofyou," Pete said quickly, words starting to run together.

"Is that the only option?"

"Yep, afraid so."

"Seriously?"

"Yes."

Myka closed her eyes, sighing, "Great. Does he have any idea how long it took me to get that stuff out of my hair last time?" she whispered.

"That's it? No getting upset and hitting me?" Pete asked.

Glaring at him she gritted, "I'd like to hit you, but I can't move, in case you haven't noticed."

Leena listened to the exchange as she packed extra clothes for Myka. "We still have to get you to the Warehouse first."

"That should be fun." Myka said, sarcasm dripping.

"What are you complaining about? Every time I touch you, you shock me," Pete reminded her.

"Better I shock you than punch you in the nose."

"Wow, this energy sure has made you more cranky than usual."

Claudia entered Myka's bedroom just as Pete uttered those words. She smacked him in the back of the head, "Not cool, dude. If you weren't so scared of the effects my gauntlets would have had on you, you'd be the one in pain and shocking us."

"OW!" Pete said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Maybe we should just douse her here," he offered, not relishing getting shocked.

"Pete!" Leena and Claudia said together.

"Way to be sensitive, man," the youngest member of the team added.

Ducking again as he saw Claudia's hand coming at him, Pete apologized to his partner. "Sorry, Myka."

"Whatever, Pete," she answered, trying to sit up.

Leena gently nudged Pete. "Help her."

Pete looked at the two women behind him and then his partner. He moved closer to her bed. Bending his knees a little, he slowly slid one arm under her knees and his other one along her upper back. He closed his eyes as a wave of small shocks hit him as he lifted her.

"Sorry," Myka said as Claudia gently placed the arm that was dangling behind Pete across his shoulders.

Leena and Claudia led the way. "Pete, I'll start the SUV," Claudia said, passing Leena and taking the stairs two at a time.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The drive to the Warehouse felt like it took forever, especially for Myka and Pete. Every bump Claudia hit sent shocks through Myka and then through Pete because Myka was on his lap. It made more sense to him to hold her rather than have to pick her up again once they got there.

"Claud, not a comment on your driving skills, but would you please take the bumps a little slower," Pete groaned as another one hit him. Looking down at his partner, he knew they were worse for her.

Claudia looked at Pete through the rearview mirror. "I'll do my best."

Artie was waiting outside for them outside the Warehouse. He led them inside (and) to the area he'd set up to dose Myka, in hopes of releasing the energy her body had absorbed before it killed her.

"Can you stand up?" Artie asked her.

"I think so," Myka responded as Pete put her feet on the ground and let go.

It hurt but not any more than it had when she was lying down on her bed. "Can we just do this now, please?" she asked, wanting relief fast.

"Okay, everyone out so Myka can get ready." Artie instructed.

"Claudia, I think I'll need a little help, please," Myka commented as the others started to leave.

The young redheaded girl stayed behind. "Can't really move, huh?" she asked in sympathy, as she moved closer to her friend.

"Not so much," the older woman responded. "You might want to pull that chair over here first so I can use it to lean on."

Claudia grabbed the chair and dragged it over to where Myka was standing, right under the showerhead. Myka used it to steady herself as Claudia took Myka's shoes and socks off. Then slowly, Myka was able to undo her jeans, but Claudia had to help pull them off as well as her underwear. Next her shirt and bra came off.

"I swear, if Pete is watching this through those cameras, I'll kill him." Claudia heard Myka whisper this while walking out of the room to let Artie know it was okay to proceed with his plan.

"OW! What was that for?" Pete whined when he felt Claudia's hand hit the back of his head.

"For looking...you know Myka would do worse if she knew," the genius girl said with a smirk.

"True," Pete said, turning away from the monitors.

He heard Artie punching some keys and pulling knobs. Then he heard him say, "Myka, you ready?"

"Not really, but go ahead," moaned the curly-haired agent as another wave of shocks and pain washed over her.

Soon she was showered and covered head to toe in purple neutralizer, eyes and mouth closed in hopes of not ingesting any of it. Myka Bering did not want to have any sort of "seeing things" incidents that could occur from ingesting the purple goo.

Suddenly, even with her eyes closed, it got very, very bright. Then it felt like someone was pulling her from her back, and then everything went black.

"Leena, Claudia, get in there now!" Artie commanded as he saw it happen on the monitor outside the room he had set up to help Myka. When the neutralizer hit Myka's core it caused the energy to shoot out of her like lightning. It threw her back into the wall behind her. Artie was worried she was seriously injured.

Pete whirled around when he heard the crack of the energy leaving Myka's body and Artie's command to Claudia & Leena.

"Dude, is she okay?" he asked, worried about his partner.

As the two women rushed in, Leena instructed Claudia to move the other showerhead closer to where Myka was so they could wash the goo off her as she made sure Myka wasn't hurt.

"Artie, I don't feel any bumps or lumps on her head; I think the power just knocked her back and out. We should keep an eye on her just in case, though," the innkeeper said over the loudspeaker (in the room).

Pete was pacing behind Artie mumbling worriedly. "Pete! Stop. You're not making this any better with all that racket." Artie scolded him.

Leena and Claudia worked to get Myka cleaned up and dressed. While they were in the process, the dark haired agent opened her eyes. "Ouch," she groaned as Leena helped her sit up.

"What happened?" she asked as Claudia helped her get dressed.

"Do you remember anything?" Leena asked, noticing that the agent's aura had gone back to her more normal mix of colors.

"I remember standing here, threatening Pete if he looked, (then) the goo hitting me and then it got bright and then nothing." Myka told Leena as Claudia was putting socks and shoes on her feet.

"Thanks, Claudia." Myka smiled at her young friend.

"No problemo," the young woman responded.

Myka's eyes grew wide as she looked at the wall opposite of where she'd been standing. "Whoa."

Leena and Claudia turned to where she was looking. "Uh, Artie, are you seeing this?"

"Yes, I am," he said as he walked into the room. Pete saw it as well.

"Whoa is an understatement there, Myks."

"That came from inside me?" she questioned, looking at a huge charred spot on the wall with a tiny hole in the middle. Thankfully, the power of the blast didn't penetrate the wall completely but it did burrow into it for a few inches.

"Next time, Pete, you wear the gauntlets and that suit." She told her partner as they left the room.

"No, thank you. I say we let the Iron Shadow wipe out a city," he teased.

"PETE!" the others exclaimed as Artie smacked the back of his head, gently.

The End


End file.
